Welcome to Appreciate a Dragon Day! Meet my Resident Dragon. He’s been standing watch over the road I live on for a lot of years. I’m not sure what he’s waiting for, but he’s the Sentinel. Also a favorite roosts for hawks, crows, red-headed blackbirds, and other birds.
Well, on to the main show. Here’s a little snippet from my (shelved) young adult fantasy spoof Quest To Be Queen. Teagren is the quester. During this segment of her quest she and her companions have been captured by Serena, who runs a society that reveres the dragon. Teagren can talk to animals, so she has a chat with George, trying to get to the bottom of the situation. And she’s in for a wee surprise.
She could think of no good reason to tiptoe around the topic. “The leader, Serena, says that they have to sacrifice a male to you every full moon. Is that true?”
Now she was sure; the dragon did roll its eyes. “Serena is an idiot.”
“Well, yes, I must agree. But do you or do you not accept these sacrifices from the sisterhood?”
“Well, yes,” George replied, mimicking her. “In a manner of speaking, I do.”
Teagren’s heart sank. “What do you mean? Please speak clearly.”
The dragon rumbled to itself. “No one has ever conversed with me before, so I can’t say I’m used to speaking clearly. But I’ll try.”
Teagren tipped her head to one side and waited.
“Honestly, girl, she gives me no choice but to accept them. You have no idea how stubborn she can be.”
“I do have some idea, I assure you. But that is hardly a good enough reason to eat them!”
“Eat them?” George’s words came out in almost a squeal. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
Teagren narrowed her eyes. “What else would you do with them? If it’s worse than eating them, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m a vegetarian. Why would I eat them?”
“Vegetarian?” This time it was Teagren that squeaked.
“Yes, vegetarian. Have you never heard of that? It refers to folks who don’t eat meat. Humans consist of meat, I do believe, and therefore I don’t eat them. Though occasionally I have swallowed a fly by mistake and a few times there have been slugs in my salad, disgusting things.”
There was a rock behind her. Teagren sagged onto it gratefully. A vegetarian dragon? Was such a thing even possible?
Jen says
🙂
Vegetarian dragons sound pretty awesome.
Margaret says
I made it before the day was over, at least: http://margaretfisk.mmfcf.com/blog/?p=904
And I like that snippet :D.
Donita K. Paul says
I enjoyed your snippet. Sounds like an interesting tale. Why is it shelved? Right now, the CBA houses are looking for YA Fantasy